Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
A hair-raising good time: R.L. Stine’s ‘Goosebumps’ makes its series premiere
WHAT’S NEW ON DISNEY+
“Goosebumps” - Season 1
A world of family-friendly chills and thrills make their way to Disney+ Friday, Oct. 13, with the premiere of the new “Goosebumps” series, inspired by the bestselling books by R.L. Stine. Also available to stream on Hulu the same day, the series follows a group of five teenagers as they embark on a journey to investigate a decades-old tragedy. As they learn more about the death of a teen named Harold Biddle (Ben Cockell, “The Mysterious Benedict Society”), the high schoolers also unearth some dark secrets from their parents’ pasts along the way. Starring Zack Morris (“EastEnders”), Isa Briones (“Star Trek: Picard”), Miles McKenna (“Guilty Party”), Ana Yi Puig (“Senior Year,” 2022), Will Price (“The Mosquito Coast”), Justin Long (“Galaxy Quest,” 1999) and Rachael Harris (“Lucifer”), “Goosebumps” was developed by Nicholas Stoller (“Platonic”) and Rob Letterman (“Shark Tale,” 2004). Produced by Justis Greene (“Bates Motel”), Stoller and Letterman are executive producers alongside Caitlin Friedman (“Stillwater”), Iole Lucchese (“Clifford the Big Red Dog,” 2021), Neal H. Moritz (“The Fast and the Furious,” 2001), Kevin Murphy (“Desperate Housewives”), Erin O’Malley (“New Girl”), Pavun Shetty (“The Boys”) and Conor Welch (“Platonic”).
WHAT’S NEW ON PRIME VIDEO
“The Burial” (2023)
Inspired by true events, the new Prime Video drama film, “The Burial,” premieres Friday, Oct. 13. After a handshake deal goes sour, funeral home owner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones, “No Country For Old Men,” 2007) is determined to seek retribution and save his family business. Enlisting charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx, “Ray,” 2005) to take on his case, the unlikely duo bond as they expose corporate corruption and racial injustice. Based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr (“A Civil Action”) and directed by Maggie Betts (“Novitiate,” 2017), the film features a story written by Doug Wright (“Quills,” 2000) and a screenplay by Wright and Betts. The cast is rounded out by Jurnee Smollett (“Lovecraft Country”), Mamoudou Athie (“Jurassic World Dominion,” 2022), Pamela Reed (“NCIS: Los Angeles”), Bill Camp (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Alan Ruck (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” 1986) and Amanda Warren (“East New York”). Executive produced by Ian Watermeier (“Secrets of Sulphur Springs”), “The Burial” is produced by Foxx, Jenette Kahn (“Gran Torino,” 2008), Celine Rattray (“The Kids Are All Right,” 2010), Adam Richman (“Gran Torino,” 2008), Robert Shriver (“True Lies,” 1994), Trudie Styler (“Filth,” 2013) and Datari Turner (“They Cloned Tyrone,” 2023).
WHAT’S NEW ON NETFLIX
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
Lose yourself in the madness of the world with Mike Flanagan’s (“The Haunting of Hill House”) new limited horror series, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” premiering Thursday, Oct. 12, on Netflix. Based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, the series follows ruthless siblings Madeline (Mary McDonnell, “Battlestar Galactica”) and Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood, “Star Trek,” 2009), who have built their company, Fortunato Pharmaceuticals, into a powerful empire. But when the heirs to the Usher dynasty begin dying at the hands of a mysterious woman from their past, dark secrets come to light, forcing the corrupt Ushers to face their shady pasts. Directed by Flanagan and Michael Fimognari (“To All the Boys: Always and Forever,” 2021), “The Fall of the House of Usher” features a teleplay by Flanagan and new screenwriter Justina Ireland (“Star Wars Explained”). The series also stars Carla Gugino (“Watchmen,” 2009), Annabeth Gish (“Mayfair Witches”), Zach Gilford (“Friday Night Lights”), Willa Fitzgerald (“Scream: The TV Series”), Carl Lumbly (“Alias”), Mark Hamill (“Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope,” 1977), Henry Thomas (“Midnight Mass”), Crystal Balint (“Mech-X4”), Kyliegh Curran (“Secrets of Sulphur Springs”), Samantha Sloyan (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Matt Biedel (“Midnight Mass”), Kate Siegel (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Rahul Kohli (“The Haunting of Bly Manor”), Daniel Jun (“The Expanse”), T’Nia Miller (“The Haunting of Bly Manor”), Paola Núñez (“The Son”), Sauriyan Sapkota (“The Midnight Club”) and Ruth Codd (“The Midnight Club”).
WHAT’S NEW ON HULU
“The Mill” (2023)
Escape the grind with the new sci-fi thriller “The Mill,” premiering as part of Hulu’s “Huluween” lineup, Monday, Oct. 9. Set in a near, dystopian, hyper-capitalistic future, the movie follows Joe (Lil Rel Howery, “Get Out,” 2017), a successful businessman focused on his family and building an increasingly successful career. Awaking one day and finding himself inexplicably trapped in an open-air prison cell, with no idea how he got there, Joe is bewildered to find nothing in the cell with him other than an ancient grist mill. Faced with inexplicable horrors linked to his career, Joe must fight to escape the nightmare of his prison before the birth of his child. Directed by Sean King O’Grady (“Our American Family,” 2021) and written by Jeffrey David Thomas (“All American: Homecoming”), “The Mill” is produced by Howery, O’Grady, Josh Feldman (“My Little Pony: The Movie,” 2017) and Jesse Ford (“Lord Huron: Products of the Universe,” 2018). Pat Healy (“Station 19”) and Karen Obilom (“Games People Play”) also star.
WHAT’S NEW ON SHUDDER
“Creepshow” - Season 4
Get into the spirit of spook with Season 4 of the horror comedy anthology series “Creepshow,” premiering on Shudder, Friday, Oct. 13. Based on the 1982 horror comedy classic film of the same name, the series promises to be “the most fun you’ll ever have being scared” (per Shudder). Telling a series of stories through vignettes, this “comic book [come]-to-life” (Shudder) explores every kind of terror imaginable — from murder, creatures, monsters and delusions to the supernatural and unexplainable. Executive produced by showrunner and director Greg Nicotero (“The Walking Dead”), the new season cast includes Ruth Codd (“The Midnight Club”), Loretta Walsh (“When Calls the Heart”), Matthew James Dowden (“North To Home,” 2022), Shaughnessy Redden (“All-In Madonna,” 2020), Andrea Drepaul (“Supernatural”), Tina Grant (“Psi Cops”), Alaska Leigh (“Fire Country”), Amanda Huxtable (“Phantom Pups”) and Cooper Bibaud (“Love/Hate,” 2011).